Claiming innocence

The general who knew nothing

Gen (retd) Aslam Beg is unhappy with the Supreme Court judgment. A man who refused to be disciplined by elected governments is now unwilling to accept the authority of the Supreme Court. Right from the beginning of the recent hearing, Beg has been taking funny positions. He made the plea that he had not taken oath under ’73 Constitution forgetting that very citizen has to abide by the constitution irrespective of whether he had taken oath under it or not. Later, in a statement submitted in the SC, he pretended to be ignorant about the distribution of funds among politicians in 1990. This has been contradicted by former DG ISI Lt Gen (retd) Asad Durrani and Brig (retd) Hamid Saeed, former head of the MI, Sindh chapter. The former stated in the court that the money was distributed on the orders given by Beg who was then COAS. Further that Beg had been onboard since the beginning of the distribution of money. The later told the media that Beg was in contact with him regarding the distribution of money among political parties. “Once, I brought something to the notice of my immediate boss, Gen Durrani, who told me to report to Gen Beg, and not bring such things to his (Durrani’s) notice,” Saeed claimed. It is rare for two senior ex-servicemen to accuse their boss over two decades after an event. That they did so indicates that there must have been truth in the allegation. It simply won’t do dismissing the verdict issued after lengthy hearings as based on ‘false testimonies and affidavits’.

Few would buy the excuse that in 1990 the ISI was under the president and not the COAS. Had the ISI been under any president not wearing uniform, it would have alerted Ch Fazal Elahi about the coup against ZAB. It would have also brought to the notice of Rafique Tarar the plans that were afoot to overthrow Nawaz Sharif. How come under GIK it suddenly became independent of a powerful and meddlesome COAS.

Beg calls the verdict a conspiracy against him and the opposition. The stand is taken apparently to win the sympathies of the opposition. Keeping in view that the opposition has all along supported the SC, it is simply inconceivable that the court would be conspiring against it As far as Beg is concerned, he is presently a non-entity and a harmless recluse. Why should anybody try to drag him unnecessarily to courts? Beg has only been overtaken by his own nemesis. The government needs to urgently comply with the apex court’s orders by taking necessary steps under the constitution and law against the former servicemen involved in the illegal and unconstitutional act. By delaying the

Gen (retd) Aslam Beg is unhappy with the Supreme Court judgment. A man who refused to be disciplined by elected governments is now unwilling to accept the authority of the Supreme Court. Right from the beginning of the recent hearing, Beg has been taking funny positions. He made the plea that he had not taken oath under ’73 Constitution forgetting that very citizen has to abide by the constitution irrespective of whether he had taken oath under it or not. Later, in a statement submitted in the SC, he pretended to be ignorant about the distribution of funds among politicians in 1990. This has been contradicted by former DG ISI Lt Gen (retd) Asad Durrani and Brig (retd) Hamid Saeed, former head of the MI, Sindh chapter. The former stated in the court that the money was distributed on the orders given by Beg who was then COAS. Further that Beg had been onboard since the beginning of the distribution of money. The later told the media that Beg was in contact with him regarding the distribution of money among political parties. “Once, I brought something to the notice of my immediate boss, Gen Durrani, who told me to report to Gen Beg, and not bring such things to his (Durrani’s) notice,” Saeed claimed. It is rare for two senior ex-servicemen to accuse their boss over two decades after an event. That they did so indicates that there must have been truth in the allegation. It simply won’t do dismissing the verdict issued after lengthy hearings as based on ‘false testimonies and affidavits’.
Few would buy the excuse that in 1990 the ISI was under the president and not the COAS. Had the ISI been under any president not wearing uniform, it would have alerted Ch Fazal Elahi about the coup against ZAB. It would have also brought to the notice of Rafique Tarar the plans that were afoot to overthrow Nawaz Sharif. How come under GIK it suddenly became independent of a powerful and meddlesome COAS.
Beg calls the verdict a conspiracy against him and the opposition. The stand is taken apparently to win the sympathies of the opposition. Keeping in view that the opposition has all along supported the SC, it is simply inconceivable that the court would be conspiring against it As far as Beg is concerned, he is presently a non-entity and a harmless recluse. Why should anybody try to drag him unnecessarily to courts? Beg has only been overtaken by his own nemesis. The government needs to urgently comply with the apex court’s orders by taking necessary steps under the constitution and law against the former servicemen involved in the illegal and unconstitutional act. By delaying the matter the government would only be providing an opportunity to mischief-mongers.

matter the government would only be providing an opportunity to mischief-mongers.